TOKYO: The Japanese government has decided to reject landmark rules on the trade in sharks, an official said Friday, opting for status quo despite a global push to protect the predators. Japan is filing a "reservation" about the regulation under the 178-member Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), to restrict cross-border trade in the oceanic whitetip, the porbeagle and three types of hammerhead shark. "It is the Japanese government's position that the species should be managed under the existing management bodies," said a Japanese diplomat assigned to the issue. Asian nations led by Japan and China - where shark fin soup is considered a delicacy - tried to block the regulations in March at a Bangkok convention, but greater support for the measure from the rest of the world overwhelmed them. Global shark populations have been decimated over recen...